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“Unstitched is riveting, compassionate, topical, and one of the best books I’ve read this year. Stanciu, in beautiful prose, takes on the impact of the opioid epidemic on a small Vermont town with the gusto and suspense of a fine mystery novel, and the empathy that only a truly fine observer of the human condition could muster. Highly recommended.”
— Thomas Christopher Greene, author of The Headmaster’s Wife and The Perfect Liar, Founding President of Vermont College of Fine Arts -
“Unstitched should be mandatory reading. It is a heartbreaking, raw, tender and revelatory look at addiction and its pervasive grip on ourselves, our families, our communities, and our rural towns. It is also a sublimely written narrative of transformation, vulnerability, discovery and love. This book undid me as I read—taking me into the heart of suffering, revealing my own habits, biases and fears—and then it gathered those pieces together and braided them into something new: a vision of hope, connection, possibility and healing for us all. Stanciu’s courage, generosity, curiosity and gorgeous words are the very best of guides.”
— Robin MacArthur, author of Heart Spring Mountain and Half Wild 
Tag Archives: #parenting
Changing Worlds
The cold, my old familiar friend, sweeps back. Carrying out a bucket of hot ashes from the woodstove in the early morning, I stand for a moment in the gusting wind. Is snow falling or merely blowing? Inside, the cats … Continue reading
Driving Lessons
The dress my daughter wore in the photo below was a thrift-store find. A soft flannel, the dress was her favorite those years she was two and three. She wore the dress until it was above her knees. I can … Continue reading
Rich
Snow drifts down this morning, officially or not marking the beginning of winter. As always, the cats and I are the first awake in our house, the cats hungry for a bowl of food and then sprawling on the rug, … Continue reading
Tuesday
… one can either choose to live, or not. We have to tell ourselves a story that makes living possible. — Katherine E. Standefer, Lightning Flowers: My Journey to Uncover the Cost of Saving a Life And so we go … Continue reading
Once in a Blue Moon
Saturday, we were at a jack o’ lantern walk at the elementary school where my youngest graduated a few years ago. Because it’s rural Vermont, it was dark, and everyone was spread out. I slipped away from the few kids … Continue reading
Asking for Good News
Every few days or so, a friend and I email back and forth, asking for good news. Occasionally, it’s utterly knock-it-out-of-the-park news — I finished this revision of my book — but more often the meaningful mundaneness of everyday life. … Continue reading
A few words
In the middle of a rainy morning, I was at the muddy dead-end of a road, listening to a passionate young man who’s taken over the family farm, as he explained an argument he’s had with the road crew and … Continue reading
Worn Cleats
Feeding the wood stove before bed, my eyes catch on my daughter’s duct-taped cleats drying beside the wood stove. Two decades ago, I first became a mother to this girl’s older sister, and an accompanying stream of beloved things have … Continue reading
Cheery Sign
On my way to a bone-chilling soccer game, I stopped by the side of the road to snap this photo. Harvest helpers? Essential workers? I hardly cared — a nice sign on a backroad in the midst of so much … Continue reading
